<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Not Your Fault Pup- a Marauders Map Short by DrusillaTheBloody</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25232176">Not Your Fault Pup- a Marauders Map Short</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrusillaTheBloody/pseuds/DrusillaTheBloody'>DrusillaTheBloody</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Other</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:01:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>689</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25232176</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrusillaTheBloody/pseuds/DrusillaTheBloody</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes we all need closure.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Not Your Fault Pup- a Marauders Map Short</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harry Languished in Privett Drive all summer, the weight of the Prophecy and Sirius’ death sitting on his heart like a lead brick. He couldn't get it out of his head, the fact it was his fault for Sirius having been there. In his mind's eye, he saw it happen over and over again, the laugh frozen on his godfather's face. The peaceful look as his head passed out of sight beyond the Veil. He came back to reality from where his gaze had turned inward to find himself holding the marauders map, the worn parchment holding strong memories of Sirius, and his tears once more fell, landing on the Map made by his father and his Dogfather.</p>
<p>As the tears hit the map, they sank slowly into the parchment, and Ink began to flow from where the droplets struck, forming two words.<br/>
Stand back.<br/>
Harry was startled, and he dropped the parchment onto the floor of his room. With a small bang and a puff of smoke, a silvery figure stood in his tiny bedroom. The transparent face of Sirius Black smiled benevolently down at the Black haired boy that was in such pain, and a voice that Harry had thought he would never hear again rasped at him.<br/>
“Hello pup. What's the matter ? Did Snivellous set you a summer essay?” the marauders spirit quipped, and Harry could only gape in shock.<br/>
“Sirius ! What? But how..?” The confused and adrift teenager stammered, not entirely ready to believe he was really seeing  what was in front of him. The ghost of a man smiled and pointed down to the map lying discarded on the floor.<br/>
“Your dad and I, and ok possibly Moony, made that and we put our hearts and souls into it. That sort of magic leaves a trace, an echo on the soul.” The lean man moved so his ghostly form sat next to Harry on the bed.<br/>
“When your tears touched the parchment, your magic called to me, drawing my spirit back to this plane along that echo. I'm afraid i can't stay very long, I'm not truly a ghost, pup, I don't belong here anymore.” The man's voice was sad, he hated to see his Godson left in such distress, but he couldn't do much about it from beyond the grave. At the news that Sirius wouldn't be able to stay, Harry's eyes filled once more with pain and tears.<br/>
Sirius reached out, and rested a hand just above harry's shoulder.<br/>
“Harry pup, it wasn't your fault.” Sirius said gently and the boy immediately looked down in shame, guilt and denial, hot pain bringing a denial to his lips even as Sirius broke in.<br/>
“Harry ! I was told to stay at headquarters, and I rushed in blind, it was no one's fault but mine that I was there, and no one's fault but that bitch of a cousin that I died.” The man's raspy voice was firm, and those green eyes locked onto ghostly ones, pain and a kind of hope warring in them, as if Harry was desperately wanting to believe the man's words.<br/>
Sirius stood from his position, reluctantly sensing it was time to leave, and Harry clearly did as well because he cried out desperately.<br/>
“Sirius! Please don't go!”.<br/>
Sirius’ heart tore in his chest as he saw the naked loneliness in those eyes and he swallowed thickly, managing to croak out some final words.<br/>
“I love you Pup. It wasn't your fault Harry, always remember that! And if you want to commemorate me properly, prank Snape, and Moldywart, and Dumbledore too! Goodbye Harry.” And with those words, the ghostly man faded from mortal sight.<br/>
Harry stared at where he had been for a long time before he picked up the Marauders map.<br/>
He swallowed back his tears as he saw , there on the cover, a perfect ink drawing of his Godfather's face, smiling at him. Harry's heart felt lighter than it had for a long time, even through the loss, as the image of his godfather swirled into ink once more, words flowing briefly across the yellowing parchment. </p>
<p>Mischief Managed.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>